Plan To Send Clegg Viral With Tom Hanks Video

Nick Clegg secretly films an £8,000 pop video recreation of a Tom Hanks collaboration in a bid for viral success during the General Election campaign.

The then Lib Dem leader filmed the version of Carly Rae Jepsen's I Really Like You on the streets of Gravesend in Kent - but it was never set free on the internet.

Perhaps the poor reception of the previous election campaign Clegg pop video, in which the Lib Dem recreated Uptown Funk, changed minds.

In the original Hanks video, the actor is seen signing autographs, posing for selfies and giving high-fives to people on the street.

Pictures of the video obtained by The Times, show Mr Clegg giving a high-five to a Gravesend passerby.

A Lib Dem insider told the newspaper the project was designed to make Mr Clegg "go viral" and that it probably would have succeed but in the wrong way.

After filming Mr Clegg had second thoughts about the film and expressed regret at taking part - it was canned.

The video was never released - nor, say the Liberal Democrats, will it be. However, he was caught on camera taking part in the filming so there are glimpses of what might have been.

He told a local journalist at the time: "It's a bit of fun. I want to have fun in this General Election campaign. I don't want it to be too po-faced and serious."

Mr Clegg announced his return to frontbench politics this week after being made the EU spokesman for the party.

He stepped down as leader after the defenestration of the Lib Dems at the General Election at the hands of their Tory coalition partners.